"I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?"

Leadership in UMNO needs to be redefined. …No I started that wrongly. UMNO need to understand that leadership is a process.  When UMNO talks about leaders they talk of Malays who are of the manor born. The son of Tun Razak, the Son in Law of Pak Lah, Tun Mahathir’s son, Din that son of Tun Hussein Onn. They talk about the RAHMAN prophecies. They talk about leaders that have been anointed by their President despite Mahathir being wrong three times: Musa, Anwar and Pak Lah. Then there is the leader who has the money to buy himself to a Leadership position….and UMNO abounds with these people – so I need not go there.

If they only lead UMNO then do go on and take UMNO to wherever it is that UMNO needs to go….and it is not my place to suggest to UMNO where they should go –though hell would be a good place - but I digress! Our problem starts when these leaders impose their leadership on us.

Leadership is not Najib …it is not somebody who has charisma, not somebody who comes from Johor or Pahang, It is not what any person do. Not a personality or anybody with the money to sell himself or buy support…and certainly not the son of a so and so! As I am writing this I can see that Din guy jumping up and down in the background waving his hands in the air reminding me that he too is a leader. Yes Din…  technically being a Minister does make you a leader but you need to understand what leadership is all about…and it is not about having the IGP salute you nor is it about filling our jail to the brim with ISA detainees! Kapish?

Leadership is what the rakyat will allow someone to impose on them because they believe that they and the leader have a mutual purpose. We are going in the same direction. Towards Merdeka as was the case with Tunku. Towards development as it was with Tun Razak. Tun Hussein we allowed to lead us because he had our interest at heart and was an honest man with integrity. Tengku Razali is a leader – albeit a reluctant one – with the ability to impose his leadership upon the Malaysian public if he so chooses. Tok Guru is an exemplary leader because he leads by example – a frugal life holding office because that is expected of him by the people he leads in Kelantan. Anwar because what he has gone through allows him to empathize with the aspirations of the people and the people will allow him to lead.

I am sorry, try as I might, I cannot find someone from within UMNO now to be an example of a leader that we will allow to lead us. Technically Ku Li belongs to the people. We are the people!

The rot started with Mahathir. To call a spade a spade what he did as our leader was to steal the wealth of his own people. Everything else that he did was sandiwara!

Removing Royalty assent for bills to pass into law and Royal immunity from prosecution? Sandiwara because he then passed that mantle to UMNO!

He engineered the phenomenal growth of the Malaysian economy? Huh? Sanidwara…all the time his cronies and members of his family were running alongside this phenomenal growth and robbing the country blind.

North-South Highway – In 1998 the group involved in this suffered a loss of RM 818 Million – and the group then debt amounted to 5% of total outstanding loan in the entire banking system!

Bakun Dam…losses running into billions…no longer millions!

Mahathir can be credited with bringing a new dimension in financial losses…billions! Need I go on? Go here if you need more details: http://steadyaku-steadyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-time-tiba-masanya-untuk-petukaran.html

These Malay leaders duped their own race into supporting UMNO in their push of radical policies favoring the Bumiputras. The other races were manipulated to give their support to the same policies as UMNO smilingly preached an appealing message of national unity that would result as a consequence of implementing these policies. Unfortunately in reality these policy empowered UMNO to a position of total political dominance in Malaysia….and UMNO is the personification of that truism “ Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”

Words like money politics. Nepotism. Greed. Kebendaan started making inroads into our culture. Our Malay leaders played up the ‘atrocities’ of the Chinese who were hell bent on keeping the Malays out of business! Out of their rightful share of the nations wealth…when all the time the share of the nations wealth was going to these UMNO leaders!

Something had to give. With money and power there was misconduct. Misconduct whether sexual or financial is not acceptable of any leader. And when the realization manifested itself in the general Election of 2008 the die was cast for UMNO.

There is no turning back for us now. Remain calm. We have done nothing wrong. We now know what leadership we want from our future leaders. We will not have a leader that lies. We can distinguish between leaders that are credible and those that are not. They will be symbols of what the people want – real changes – one Malaysia. That mutuality of purpose between the people and our leader will determine where the focus of leadership within our country will be and this is a worthwhile and achievable aspiration that will transcend self-interest and focus on the common good of all people in our country.

I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?

Benjamin Disraeli